Random 67

Sylvie tilted her head a little. "It looked like they come naturally to you, anyway." Her voice was a little softer.

That was the last straw. His eyes misted a little, and he had to swallow. "I'm afraid so," he said hoarsely, terrified to move even half an inch now, opting for staring at Sylvie instead. A dozen thoughts went around in his head, colliding into each other over and over again, basically leaving Sebastian catatonic. His eyes went blank.

That was a little worrying. Sylvie set her tea aside and reached for the cup Sebastian was holding, worrying he would drop it. "Sebastian?"

His grip on the cup was tight and unwavering at first, but he let go anyway and blinked before his eyes went wide. Another errant thought surfaced, but the crashing inside his mind at least stopped because of the sudden surprise. All he could think of to say came by instinct, and it took a half a second for Sebastian to realise he'd said it in a dead language before he repeated himself. "Sorry, yes?"

She sighed, no idea what to make of that. "Come on, let's sit down." She gently pushed him to the edge of the bed and sat down next to him. She could not bring herself to ask him straight out, but she could explain one reason why she was out of sorts. She still looked at him frequently, but at least it wasn't such a confrontational staredown. "Look. I don't have many friends nowadays. The Old Ivy family is quite exceptional. I've been lying to them about what I've been up to for days, and this morning you..." She shook her head and did not put it in words. 'Manipulation' was an ugly one. "And then I meet Kord and we talk and work together and it ends like this. This isolation is... It's all the worse for connection seeming possible."

Sensing that this was going to be a talking-to of sorts, Sebastian complied and settled down on the bed, taking off his gloves and rubbing his palms as he listened. The roof suddenly seemed to be a good place to look at. "I don't either," he admitted, turning a look at his hands before inhaling deeply. "But that's how it's always been. It's not the lack of trust in people, it's the fear of what might happen to them. Right now, Kord needs to keep helping the farmers. I wouldn't mind some muscle. It's just that they're needed there. Old Ivy's family... I have no idea of how to use their help."

After that he paused, sighed and rubbed his eyes again, then his forehead and leaned forward, the other arm resting on his legs. "I only know what I have to do. Preferrably without killing anyone or putting someone else at risk. It's like this every time. I'm actually terrified that something will happen to you."

Sylvie took a sip of tea - Sebastian's tea, if you wanted to be picky - and considered that for a moment. The always-been, just-have-to rubbed her the wrong way. "Sebastian... This is not an accusation," she said calmly, "but I'd like to know. Why did you tell me about the whole mess in the first place?"

That was the thousand gold coin question he'd been going through in his mind for a long time. It all boiled down to: "Because I trust you, and thought you might be one who wouldn't think of me as some bit of stupid legend I've become. I believed you wouldn't fawn, wouldn't start taking orders and would use your intellect instead of just taking my words for granted -- like the Old Lady's folk -- or be intimidated -- like Brice." Sebastian slapped a hand over his forehead and eyes, biting his teeth together. "And I needed help from a person like that, and it doesn't help that there's..." Well. That was odd. He felt a bit too shy about saying it. So he kept it to himself, for now.

There was a pause while Sylvie waited if he'd finish that thought. And while she digested what he had said. It seemed to her like he really meant it; she imagined an act made to convince wouldn't have been delivered that quickly.

Eventually she gave a little chuckle. "So, here we are now. Arguing when there's work to be done." She offered the teacup to Sebastian.

For a moment he wondered if he had the guts to blurt it out, but the mention of work put a stop to it, so instead Sebastian blinked a few times as he lowered his hand and took the cup. A glance at the cup, then a longer look at Sylvie. Gratitude? Yes, certainly. Relief? Some, mixed with confusion, which wasn't all that usual.

The cup got emptied. "You're right," he said hoarsely, forcing his mind to focus on the job. Once again, he swore he wouldn't do anything more after this. Not even if... no, work, now. He couldn't stop himself from leaning against her for a short moment, though, but his gaze was centred on his satchel.

She patted his knee in reply, and leaned on it as she got up. Trust? She trusted him, by and large, when it came to the job at hand, at least. The rest they could get back to later. Her appetite was still low, but figuring that she had to refuel, she ripped off a bit of bread and started chewing.

His thoughts concerning trust gravitated more toward what would come later. His stomach rebelled at the thought of messing up again, but he still ate, appetite be damned. The snack over, he headed for the satchel, looking determined and somewhat less detached. "All right, then," he said softly, rummaging through the papers Brice had written for them. "What to do first?" Sebastian mused out loud.

"Decide where to go, particularly in which order. That book about Canyet's history doesn't happen to have a current map?"

He considered. "I think I know the the map from sixty years ago --" Sebastian tapped his temple with a finger "-- but let me check. Yes. It does. The closest to us is..." A pause. For a moment, the drenched man was quiet and looked out the window. "...you won't believe this," he said quietly.

"Next street over?" At this point, the part that he had the map from sixty years ago memorised struck her as weirder.

"More or less. We walked past it on the way down here," Sebastian said, looking as if he was going to faint or strangle somebody. Possibly himself.

"What's the matter?"

"The last time I was here," Sebastian said, "that place was a warehouse for art, an artisan's shop. The man who lived there made a gravestone for a friend I once had. Back then."

Sylvie lowered her head and rubbed her eyes with her left hand. "I may be starting to hate Fortuna."

That elicited a chuckle. "You're not alone, love," he said, then stiffened when he realised what he had said. But, as always, he caught hold of himself pretty quickly. "The other two I don't know about." He got the book from under the bed and looked for a current map.

Sylvie only registered the pet name when she noticed Sebastian's reaction, but put it in the pile of "things to consider later". "I'd like to save that location for last. We'll have a place we can head to afterwards nearby."

"And for rest and food. I see your logic there," he said, frowning as he went over the addresses inside his head, eyes scanning the map on the book. "All right. One of them are in near the tanneries. Sort of makes sense. The other, near the... graveyard district." Again, Sebastian looked utterly bemused and about to curse. "Fortuna, damn you."

Sylvie gave him a worried look. "The same friend?" Her eyes widened a little. "Is that Robare's father?"

"Not father. Grandfather, great-grandfather. I forget which. Bear in mind, it's been sixty or so years since my last visit here," Sebastian said, but looked worried still. "That same friend," he verified in a low tones. "It's nearby according to this map." Pause. "I think I saw the building, but I don't know what it was for."

"Do you have any idea if it's important, or just... divine sense of humour?" She didn't find it funny, anyway.

Sebastian rubbed his temples. "I hope it isn't the latter. But you might guess I don't believe in coincidences anymore." That almost prompted him to say something more, but he didn't. "Either way, it's important. Whatever is going on..." he hesitated to say this, "...there's a reason. I only wish I knew what. I've never known. I have to say, though, this is tame on Lady Luck's standards."

Sylvie hummed, feeling rather at a disadvantage making guesses about someone she'd never met. "If you think talking about your friend would help you thinking, I'd listen. Otherwise..." She drew a line on the map with her finger. "It's closer to the Saba property than the tanneries are, so we'll get to the graveyard district first of the three?"

He considered that for a while, assessing the risks and possible scenarios. In the end, Sebastian had to agree with what he had said about Sylvie's intellect and her choices over the matter. "I defer to your choice. It might be best to start nearby, because -- well, it might be best to hit them where they don't expect it. A bit risky, but working our way down from the graveyard to the tannery..."

He paused, considering. "Yes." He smiled. "We'll do it like that," Sebastian said, grabbing her hand.

With an ironic smile she answered, "I was just thinking of shortening the walk."

Sebastian flinched and blinked a few times before laughing shortly. He still had a grin on his face when he said: "Good call, Sylvie. I didn't think of it like that." With that, he began to strip his shirt and headed for the heap of mostly dry clothes next to the bed, taking his usual cotton shirt and coat -- and his belt, which held trinkets and tools that might come in handy. That had been left behind on purpose when he insinuated himself into Brice's company. He was still smiling as he put all of it on.

Sylvie would just have to deal with being damp - well, wet by now, and it wouldn't get better for a while - and cold. Watching him with a wistful smile she said, "Spreading a problem over several minds tends to find more different angles."

He still felt quite damp downstairs, but otherwise it was fine. Unfortunately, he'd be damp and wet and cold soon anyway, but Sebastian paid no attention to that notion. He did, however, stop once his belt was buckled. "You might -- no, I think you're right," he said as he sat down next to her again, looking contemplative. A wince. "I haven't... felt this relaxed for..." Well, never, aside from that adventure with Weft. And that had had it's drawbacks, unlike this, so far.